The Porter County
Board of Commissioners approved a raft of ordinances at its meeting Tuesday
morning.

Approved on second
reading:

* An ordinance
proposed by Park Superintendent Walter Lenckos to create a fund into which
to deposit a Land and Water Conservation Act grant.

* And two sought by
Recorder Jon Miller regarding bulk copies of government forms, to bring his
office’s policy in compliance with federal standards.

Approved on first
reading: an ordinance which would allow the Commissioner who sits on the
Stormwater Advisory Board to appoint a designee to sit in his or her place.

Authorizations

In other business,
the Commissioners authorized Facilities Director Matt Stechly to spend
$17,743 on a new metal detector for the Courthouse after a metal detector
there stopped working. Stechly solicited quotes from four firms and received
two, with the contract going to Autoclear, which submitted the lowest quote
and promised the fastest installation.

The Commissioners
also authorized Sheriff Dave Reynolds to purchase four new vehicles from
Lakeshore Ford for a total of $268,085.79. Reynolds said that the Sheriff’s
Office received bids from Bloomington Ford, Currie Ford, and Lakeshore, and
that his office averages nine new vehicles per year.

County Assessor Jon
Snyder, meanwhile, was approved to renew an ongoing professional services
agreement with Equi-Val Tax Solutions LLC. Snyder said that the agreement
helps his office process tax appeals more efficiently.

Opera House
Director Scot MacDonald for his part was approved to enter an engineering
agreement with Schmidt Associates after he reported that the Memorial Opera
House has received a grant to investigate options for renovating and
preserving the building. At a cost of $55,285, Schmidt Associates will
create a long-term maintenance plan for the Opera House.

MacDonald added
that all the seats in the Opera House will be replaced thanks to a generous
donation. The existing seats are nearly 50 years old, and will be replaced
with 385 seats from the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, which is being
prepared for demolition.

Finally, the
Commissioner renewed the County Election Board’s equipment service agreement
with Ellis Systems.